WashU issues armed-person alert on Danforth Campus, prompting shelter-in-place response and police building checks

Emergency alert sent Tuesday morning

Washington University in St. Louis issued an emergency alert Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, warning of an armed person on its Danforth Campus and instructing people to take immediate protective action.

The alert was posted at 9:18 a.m. Central time and advised those on campus to “Run, Hide, or Fight,” adding that anyone who chose to shelter should lock or barricade in a room until further notice. People who were not on campus were instructed to stay away.

Updates narrowed the focus to the Brookings Hall area

Subsequent updates tied the response to reports of a person with a weapon near Brookings Hall. In those updates, police were described as checking buildings in the vicinity of Brookings Hall and later remaining on scene near Brookings Hall and other Danforth Campus buildings.

The updates also stated there was no confirmation of an active shooter at the time of the message, while maintaining instructions for people to remain in place until further notice.

WashU’s alert messaging directed campus community members to prioritize escape if safe, shelter if necessary, and resist only as a last resort.

What is confirmed, and what remains unclear

Confirmed information at this stage includes the timing and content of the emergency alert, the safety instructions issued, and that police activity included building checks near Brookings Hall. The university’s alert language indicates the incident was driven by reports of a weapon, but it did not provide identifying details about any suspect, the type of weapon, or whether anyone was injured.

As of the latest available university messaging reviewed by stlouis.news, an “all clear” notification had not been published alongside the initial alert on the university’s emergency updates page. The absence of an all-clear message does not, by itself, indicate an ongoing threat; it indicates only that a formal all-clear had not been posted in the same channel at that time.

How campus emergency alerts are designed to work

University guidance describes its emergency alerts as reserved for situations that pose an immediate threat to the campus community. The system is intended to deliver brief instructions quickly, with additional information posted as it becomes available.

• Those on campus are instructed to follow the protective-action directive in the alert message.
• Those off campus are instructed to avoid the area until an all-clear is provided.
• Emergency information is centralized on the university’s emergency updates site during incidents.

This story will be updated as the university issues additional verified information, including any all-clear message and any confirmed outcome of the police search.